Java sighed as he stood atop the platform of Carousel Boutique, his legs tense and tired from having stood for so long. Rarity circled him left and right, inspecting the work she had already done on the programmer pony. He was wearing a layer of deep green silk as the fashionista started sewing up the seams carefully, though her work was impeded by the impatient colt's slight movements. “Java you simply must hold still or I might miss a stitch. Honestly I've had little fillies in here that didn't fidget as much as you do.”
“Yeah well, I was never one to sit still for more than an hour.” he told her. “Tell me again why you can't just use one of the mannequins?”
His impatience won him a quick glare from the mare's aqua eyes, which she quickly shrugged off as she continued to work. “As I told you before I don't get many colts in my store, and of the mannequins I have, your body type I do not. Perhaps if you were a bit more burly like Big Macintosh I would have one for you.”
The teal colt sighed once again. Already he had been standing there for two hours as Rarity had taken her time choosing the proper fabric, proper color, and formed a design in her head. He was beginning to regret coming to her at all, but did his best to endure, recalling the morning's surprise that had brought him there in the first place.
&&&&&&&&&
Java got up as he usually did, two hours after his alarm. It was a bright spring morning as he made his way downstairs. Micro had already left for school, no doubt with Clickspring at his side. Preparing a brew of coffee, he went out and got the mail. Aside from some letters from the usual places – friends from Fillydelphia, Mom, a couple of bills – one letter stuck out amongst the group. The envelope was lined at the rims with gold colored material, and on the point, the royal family's wax seal. Setting the rest of the mail aside for a second, he opened the envelope carefully. Taking out the letter, he set it down and began reading.
Dear Java Chips,
For your efforts in the removal of the Canis Minor and assistance in protecting Equestria, you are cordially invited to an awards ceremony in your honor at the royal castle in Canterlot, followed by a four course dinner and formal dance. We look forward to playing host to you and the other heroes of Ponyville and that you enjoy your stay in Canterlot.
Sincerely,
Chief Advisor of Astral Beasts and Royal Lunar Apprentice,
Morning Star
Java smiled as he read the final line, remembering the old friend and the exciting adventure they had. “Well, I guess I'm going to need a suit for this awards ceremony.” he said with a sigh. “And that means...”
&&&&&&&&&
Looking himself over in the mirror, Java had to admit that Rarity had a knack for bringing out a pony's personality in their attire. His suit was a deep green with lines built of gold thread branching out from each other across the suit, meeting with the circles of gold thread on the rims of the suit's fabric. The buttons and cufflinks were small black rectangles with the same gold lining across the edges.. In truth, he looked like a large, walking motherboard. “Wow Rarity, you really know your way around a sewing kit, thanks. I'll bring Micro over after school and you can take care of his.”
Rarity nodded, looking over the suit for herself to make sure she didn't miss anything. “Think nothing of it Java, I just knew you would love it. I'll see to it that Micro's is just as good.”
Java nodded, taking off the suit. He handed over some bits and left the suit with Rarity for safe keeping. Making his way home, he heard a loud crash from the library, and could only guess what was going on. With a knock, the door opened, revealing a frazzled Twilight Sparkle, rubbing a bruise on her head. “Afternoon Twi, are you alright?”
Twilight smiled and nodded. “Yeah, just packing for the trip.”
“You know the train won't be here until tomorrow right?”
The unicorn nodded, blushing. “Right...I guess I'm jumping the gun a little bit.”
Java nodded back. “Just try not to get yourself killed packing alright?”
She nodded and waved goodbye as he went on his way. Looking back inside, she began cleaning up the mess she had made. The last thing she did before she went back to work in the library was take a moment to read the letter again.
&&&&&&&&&
Micro smiled, looking at his new suit in the mirror. “Wow Rarity, you're amazing.” he told the designer pony.
Rarity smiled and patted the colt on the head, looking over the final details. “Thank you Micro, it's always a pleasure to help out such a sweet guy like you.”
The entire ensemble was a dark purple that matched his mane. Three white streaks made their way upward from the bottom of the back. The center line went straight up to the collar, while the outer ones curved down the sleeves to the ends. His cufflinks were a pair of golden triangles, glistening in the light of the room. The four buttons on the front were all the same round black buttons, but each had their own design on them. Going from the top down, there was a triangle, a circle, a square, and at the bottom was an x. The final point of interest was the tie. Rarity had opted for a bolo tie, as opposed to a traditional tie, claiming it “Would bring the whole outfit together and look adorable.” The clip on the tie was a red M. Micro smiled as he looked it over as a whole. “It's just perfect for me, how much is it going to cost?” he asked, looking at Java's reflection behind him.
Rarity smiled and shook her head at the worried young colt. “Oh, you were such a well behaved pony, I don't think I could possibly charge you. It's on the house this time.”
Micro blushed a bit with a sheepish smile and nodded. “Thanks, that's really nice of you.”
She nodded and helped him out of the suit, putting it away with the others for travel. Rarity waved goodbye to the two brothers as they walked home to finish packing.
&&&&&&&&&
The Canterlot train station was much busier than that of the small town of Ponyville, but a white unicorn colt had somehow found his way through the crowd to the boarding platform, where he waited with a pair of guards for the Ponyville train to arrive. It was running late, no doubt a scheduling error, but in the distance Morning Star could see and hear the galloping stallions that pulled the train along. As it came to a stop in front of the boarding platform and the doors opened, a group of ponies made their way out. Morning Star waved a hoof in the air to get their attention. “Twilight!” he called out.
Twilight looked over and saw him, her face lighting up. She ran over quickly and wrapped him into a hug, which he happily returned. “Star! It's so good to see you again.” she told him as the rest of the group joined the two.
Breaking from the hug, he looked across at the group and went up to shake hooves with each of them. As he reached the end, he shook the hoof of the first of the two colts. “Java Chips,” he said with a grin, “How have you been? Gallop through a snake pit recently?”
Java chuckled and shook his head. “No, just same old boring life.”
Star gave a bit of a laugh back, looking over and taking notice of the tan colt that was up against his brother, trying to hide. “Ah, you must be young Micro Chips.” he said, leaning his head over to see. “I'm Morning Star. Sorry that we didn't get to meet last time I was in town.”
Micro adjusted the glasses on his face, reaching out to shake the kind unicorn's hoof. “Nice to meet you....” he said quietly.
With the greetings out of the way and the guards carrying the luggage, Morning Star began leading the group toward their residency during their stay. “You are all going to love the observatory.” he told them. “It's a giant building, you'll each have your own room. And the view at night is just wonderful, Princess Celestia has built it to see past the cloud cover and have a perfect view of the night sky every night. It's a very helpful spell.”
Twilight nodded, following closely behind the astronomer. “I remember stopping by when I used to live here, it was always a lovely sight to see which constellations would show themselves.”
The two shared a nostalgic smile while the rest followed behind. It didn't take long to get to the observatory. It was a magnificently tall building, a rounded roof with an observation deck at the top. Stepping inside, it was almost unbelievable how large it was inside. Everyone was in awe at the sheer size of the building, all except for Pinkie, who was already hopping around happily chanting “Big big! It's so big!” at the top of her lungs.
The two guards were already on their way to unpack the group's belongings, their rooms had been prepared in advance. Morning Star made his way to the center of the main room, taking in a deep breath. “Astra!” he called out loudly.
From the many halls of the building a loud but delicate bird call could be heard. Flying in from the left, a winged astral beast flew through, doing circles as it descended to perch itself on the flank of it's owner. It was a large bird, though noticeably smaller than a pheonix. “Everyone,” Star began, “This is my assistant Astra. She's an Apus, the bird of paradise constellation. A gift from Princess Luna upon becoming her apprentice.”
Everyone looked in awe at the bird, circling the astronomer unicorn to gaze at the sheer beauty of the bird. “What's that necklace for?” Micro asked, pointing out the deep blue jewel wrapped around it's neck.
Star smiled and turned to face Micro. “Excellent question Micro. The necklace was also specially made by the princess. It's called a lunar ruby, a gem that makes astral beasts appear during the daylight hours. This way Astra can help me during the day.”
Micro nodded, still staring at the bird. Star smiled and turned to speak to his assistant. “Astra, please inform the princess that our guests have arrived unharmed and in one piece.”
With another call from the bird, it took to the sky and flew out a nearby open window. Everyone watched in awe as the bird left, a single starry feather floating gracefully to the ground. Morning Star smiled and began trotting toward the nearby staircase. “I'm sure you're all tired, come with me and I'll show you to your rooms. The ceremony is still two days away, but I'm sure you'll want to be well rested before you explore Canterlot.”
The group was in agreement on that statement as they followed the Canterlot native up the stairs and to their individual rooms, getting some well deserved rest.
&&&&&&&&&
Twilight rolled back and forth in her bed, having trouble sleeping. After tossing and turning for what felt like hours, she picked herself up and stepped out of her room. Working on memory alone, she made her way toward the observation deck at the top of the building. As she walked through the door, she spotted a familiar white unicorn, staring up at the midnight sky. “Your insomnia acting up again?” she asked with a smile, sitting down next to him.
He couldn't help but gasp as he heard the magician's voice, but calmed and smiled when he saw her. “You know me all too well Twilight. It can be hard sometimes, but at least it means I can stare up at the night sky.”
She nodded back, staring up at the sky as she reminisced. “Yeah, I remember the first night I found out. You were so embarrassed about it for some reason.”
“Yeah, I just didn't think anypony would understand, but you were really understanding about it. Thank you.”
Twilight blushed, looking down at the ground for a moment, rubbing the back of her head. “Yeah...hey I have an idea.” she said, raising her head. “How about we play that game we used to play when you stayed up late.”
Star looked over and shook his head. “I don't want you to lose sleep over me.”
The violet unicorn poked his nose teasingly, a smile on her face. “I'm not sleeping too well either tonight, so it's no big deal. Now come on you big chicken, you go first.”
With a chuckle, he smirked and stared up at the night sky, scanning it carefully as he spotted what he was looking for. “Leo.” he said aloud.
Twilight smiled and looked up, searching around the skies. “Ursa Major.”
“Coma Berenices.”
“Canes Venatici.”
“Virgo.”
The two went back and forth for a long time, naming every constellation and star they could spot. Finally, as they were running out of names, Twilight began to blank and kept looking to the sky for some answer. “Umm....Cancer?” she said with uncertainty.
Morning Star smiled, shaking his head. “Sorry, I said Cancer right after you said Antilla. I win.”
Twilight smiled, yawning softly as she rested her head on Star's shoulder. “Yeah, I guess you do.”
For a while, the two just stared up at the sky, watching the moon arc it's way across the sky. Twilight looked over nonchalantly at the astronomer sitting next to her and couldn't help but blush. “Hey Star, I umm....I think....”
“I know.” he told her, smiling. “You know your constellations, but when it comes to poker faces, I'm afraid you're out of luck.”
Twilight blushed, staring up at the moon, it's crescent shining down on the two. “Well...I guess I should go get some sleep.”
Star nodded and got up, walking with her back inside.
&&&&&&&&&
As the sun rose the next day, everypony went their separate ways to explore the large city of Canterlot, a city with something for everypony. Java made his way through a large business district, looking around at the shops. Overall there was a general disinterest in the market. There was the occassional electronics shop or video game arcade that caught his eye, but not much. Until, however, he caught sight of a computer shop. The sign above read “Alpha Computers.” Java decided to try his luck and stepped in, taking a look around at the electronics around him. Overall he was disappointed with the collection of products. It seemed that all that filled the shelves were factory direct models, no special customization included. His eyes caught sight of one computer that sat behind the front desk. As he approached it, he could see from the chrome casing that it wasn't from any common computer company. “Hey there,” came a disembodied voice, “Interested in a computer?”
Java looked away from the computer toward the voice and saw a unicorn wearing stylish glasses step out from behind a bead door. Her coat was a deep forest green, her mane a greyish silver. Her flank bore a cutie mark of a keyboard, which bounced back and forth as she made her way toward the programmer pony. Java shook himself out of his trance and smiled, shaking his head. “Well I wouldn't say I'd want one of those pedestrian models, but this one certainly caught my eye.”
The computer pony smirked and turned to her computer, tapping the tower lightly. “I'm afraid you'll have to look and not touch. I made this computer from scratch, the best of the best.”
Java gave her a challenging look, smiling. “Oh really? Does it have an Intel Core i5 processor?”
The owner shook her head back, smirking at the challenge. “As if, try i7.”
“A twenty inch screen?”
“Perfect for both business and pleasure.”
“How many gigs of RAM?”
“I managed to fit ten in there, would have fit more but didn't want to overload the poor girl.”
“And what kind of video card?”
“Can't say. A lady has to keep some secrets.” she retorted once again, this time with a wink.
Java smiled and settled his hooves up on the counter, interested by the intelligent mare across the desk from him. “Well then how about your name?”
“Alpha, Alpha Tester.” she told him. “And you?”
“Java Chips.”
Alpha smiled, adjusting her glasses. “Oh yeah, you're that colt from Ponyville who helped stop those Canis Minor. Nice job dude.”
Java smirked, rubbing the back of his head. “Well it was nothing really, all I did was set up the sound field, calibrate the deafening tone, and rush into a cage of the beasts to turn it on. No big deal.”
“Oh really? Well you're right, that doesn't sound so bad.” she said, playing along. “Can't wait to see you at the ceremony.”
Java nodded, smiling. “Yeah, can't wait to see you there either.”
&&&&&&&&&
Micro made his way through what was quite easily his favorite area of Canterlot, the Gaming District. There were shops for everything from console modding to classic gaming. Finally, he came upon the building he had been waiting all his life to see. Standing tall in front of him was Thunderhoof Arena, the largest video game tournament building in all of Equestria. Every day it held more than thirty different kinds of tournaments, open every hour of every day to meet the popular demand. Looking up at it, Micro was feeling very timid about entering. Finally, he worked up the courage and stepped inside.
The entire building was packed with colts and fillies, either watching or participating in hundreds of games. His attention was caught toward a group crowded around a pair of flashing monitors. Two ponies were playing Trot Trot Revolution. Micro made his way to the front of the crowd and looked up at the two ponies who were playing. He came in just as the game winded down, the final scores being displayed. Of the two, it was the goldenrod filly with a controller cutie mark who won. With a smirk and a brush of her sweaty white mane, she turned to the colt, who was working to catch his breath. “Was that supposed to be challenging?” she taunted, a cruel smirk on her face. “What kind of pony dances like that? Maybe you should stick to your little puzzle games and leave the trotting to the real gamers.”
As the colt shamefully left the stage, Micro came to glare on the filly. If there was one thing he hated more than a sore loser, it was a boastful winner. The filly turned to the crowd and looked amongst them. “Come on, isn't there anypony out there who can put up a fight against Feather Step?”
Micro stepped forward, a determined look on his face as he stepped up to the other platform. “I'll take you on. I'm Micro Chips.”
Feather smirked and turned to face the screen, sliding her hoof down as she chose the song. “Fine Micro Chump, I'll give you a flank kicking if you want it so badly.”
Micro said nothing as they set up their own difficulty levels, both of them going with the highest setting. As the song began, both ponies kept their hooves in synch with the arrows on the screen. One would think that a timid pony like Micro would be no good in a crowd scene, but his incredible ability to immerse himself into a game allowed him to block out the cheering and jaunting of the crowd and keep his focus, watching the arrows carefully. The song continued on, sinking into it's final chorus. Feather Step was getting tired, but refused to give in to this new pony on the block. Her steps got sloppy as she started to miss steps. By the end, though close, Micro turned out to be the winner. Feather glared over at Micro, her breathing heavy. As Micro turned to face her, she prepared for whatever snide comment her opponent would make. But it never came. “Good Game.” was all Micro said, a smile on his face.
Feather looked surprised, a slight blush across her face as she watched her opponent disappear into the crowd, on his way to investigate the rest of the building. “Good....game?”
&&&&&&&&&
Today had been a very tiring day for everypony from Ponyville. Applejack had spent her day at the Canterlot Apple Cider plant, Fluttershy got the chance to once again peruse the royal garden, Rarity had shopped herself silly across the various Canterlot boutiques, Rainbow Dash visited the Wonderbolts exhibit at the museum, and Twilight took it upon herself to visit the library she once called home. As for Pinkie Pie, nopony was really sure. She was the last to return to the observatory, wearing clown pants, rabbit ears, a fake moustache, and a kazoo in her mouth. As usual, everypony knew it was better not to question it and just shrug it off. Everypony had a lot to think about that night as they tiredly made their way to their rooms, thoughts of the day gone by and the day ahead of them.
&&&&&&&&&
As everypony in Canterlot came together in the royal courtyard for the awards ceremony, the honored guests made their way onto the stage, each wearing their own personal style. Micro watched from his special seat in front, looking over the group. Java wore his motherboard suit, and the six mares had on their gala dresses. Morning Star's suit was not unlike Twilight's dress, a tribute to the shining night sky. It was a deep blue fabric with a series of stars stitched in. As the trumpets roared, the two alicorn princesses of Equestria flew down to land in front of the brave heroes. Celestia stepped forward and smiled. “Well, it looks like a bunch of familiar faces.” she said as she looked down the line.
As her eyes caught Java on the end, she could see that the unfamiliar pony was a bit nervous and awe struck before the regal alicorn. “Well you're a new face, what might your name be my little pony?”
Java swallowed his nerves and spoke up, coughing to clear his throat. “J-Java Chips, your majesty.”
Celestia giggled, used to the royal treatment from ponies, but still entertained by their formal speech. “Well it's nice to meet you Java Chips, any friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine.”
Celestia nodded over to Luna, who was standing next to a guard carrying the medals. Luna nodded back, and Celestia turned to the crowd. “Fillies and Gentlecolts,” she began, “It is my great pleasure to present the brave ponies who faced the pack of Canis Minor without a second thought, showing determination in their goal to protect the Equestrian capital. It is our great honor to award these brave ponies with Equestria's highest honor for courage, the golden feather.”
At that cue, Luna picked up the first medal and made her way toward Morning Star, the first one in line. The guard pony followed behind her with the rest of the medals, each shaped like a feather. “We now award you, brave ponies of Equestria, with this prestigious award.” she continued. “So we thank you, Morning Star, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Java Chips.”
As she named the ponies one by one, Luna awarded them with their medals. Each pony bowed to accept, admiring the golden medal that hung around their necks.
&&&&&&&&&
Following the awards ceremony, everypony made their way inside to the dining hall. Across the room were tables filled with a variety of conversations. At the head table sat the two alicorn princesses and the awarded heroes. The group watched as Pinkie Pie regaled the princesses with the story of how they had come to beat the Canis Minors. “And then Java was all, 'Pinkie Pie hop on my back!' And I was like, 'Okay!' And then-”
Celestia set a gentle hoof upon the party pony's mouth, a bit overwhelmed by her talkative nature. “That's....that's quite alright Miss Pie, I already received the report detailing the capture. Thank you though. So, Java and Micro Chips correct? Twilight hasn't shared much in her letters about you.”
Java smiled over at the curious alicorn, a smile on his face. “Well, your highness, we're fairly new to Ponyville. We only arrived in the town this past summer.”
The second course, soup, came as they talked, Celestia's interest unwavered. “I see, where were you living prior to Ponyville?”
“In Fillydelphia your highness.”
“Oh, is that so? I've heard good things about Fillydelphia, why move?”
“Well, as you probably know, Fillydelphia is a major electronics town in Equestria, so there are quite a lot of repair shops there. We moved to Ponyville for the increase in business.”
Celestia smiled and took soft sips of her soup as she conversed, leaning her head over to catch a sight at the timid brown colt next to the programmer pony. “And how about you Micro, how are you liking Ponyville?”
With a bit of a blush and a short silence, he tried his best to face the princess, though finding eye contract difficult, and began to speak. “It's....it's very nice your highness. Everypony there is very nice.”
The alicorn smiled at the timid pony, feeling a bit of concern for his closed off attitude. “You know, you may call me Princess Celestia if you wish, 'your highness' is far too formal for my tastes.”
Micro looked up and saw the reassuring smile on her face, allowing him to bring out a small smile of his own in front of the kind royalty. “Alright, Princess Celestia.”
Much beyond that was simply small talk, passing the time between courses until the final course, dessert, had been finished. The servants of the castle were quick to move the tables away from the center of the room, the dance floor prepared. Many of the colts and mares had come with dates, ready to dance as the floor was cleared. Most that didn't stood near the walls, watching awkwardly as others enjoyed the night. Micro was one, shying away from the dance floor as he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he saw a slightly familiar face giving him a blushing glare as she stood in her dress. “F...Feather Step?” he asked.
Her hair had been styled for the night, but Micro could tell from the face it was the same TTR pony he had met before. She nodded, her dress swaying a bit. “Look, my parents told me to dance,” she began, scoffing, “And you're the only colt here who won't make me look like a foal, so dance with me okay?”
She held out an embarrassed hoof. Micro stared at it for a moment, a bit surprised and a bit embarrassed himself. He smiled and took her hoof gently, giving a blushing smile. “Alright.”
As they made their way onto the floor, Feather tried her best to avoid eye contact, not used to being the follower and not the leader. “You better not make me look bad.”
&&&&&&&&&
Java stood across the room, smiling as he saw Micro out on the dance floor, leading a girl. “He's come a long way.” he said to himself, looking back on the brother who had hidden behind him so many times.
“Hey there handsome.” came a voice from behind him.
Turning around, he saw Alpha Tester, wearing a very lovely dress. A hairband held her hair back, the glasses sitting comfortably on her face. Her dress was a lovely angelic white, sparkling in the light of the room. Java was at a loss for words as he beheld the lovely unicorn. Alpha couldn't help but giggle at the colt's wide eyed expression. “I told you that I'd see you at the ceremony, didn't I?”
Java swallowed in some air, getting back to his senses once again as a blush went across his face. “Y-yeah, you did. You look lovely.”
Alpha took a moment to turn and blush, a giggle underneath her breath. “Thanks,” she said, brushing some loose hair back as she turned to face him again. “Now, isn't there something you want to ask me?”
Java thought for a moment. “Oh um....uh right.” he realized, holding out a hoof. “Miss Alpha Tester, may I have this dance?”
The hardware unicorn couldn't help but giggle again at the awkward turqoise colt, resting her hoof on top of his. “Mr. Java Chips, it would be an honor.” she told him teasingly as they walked onto the dance floor.
&&&&&&&&&
Morning Star had found himself dancing with Princess Luna, following step by step with her movements. Though his hooves were in tune with Luna, his mind was somewhere else as he took every opportunity to gaze off into the distance. As they danced, Luna noticed his mind was not all with him. “Something troubling you, my apprentice?” she asked.
He regained his awareness as she asked, turning back to the princess. “Not at all princess, I'm fine.”
Luna followed his former gaze and saw the lonely Twilight Sparkle off to the side, and put the pieces together. “I see.”
&&&&&&&&&
Twilight leaned against the wall, watching the dance floor enviously. All of her friends had found themselves a colt or mare to dance with, all except for her. There was only one pony she wanted to dance with. “Excuse me young lady, might I have this dance?”
Turning, she saw Morning Star standing there, a smile on his face and his hoof held out. Her face lit up as she stepped forward. “What about Princess Luna?” she asked.
He shook his head in response, keeping his hoof held out. “She said she was feeling tired and left the party early. So I ask again, may I have this dance?”
Twilight smiled, making a mental note to thank the 'tired' Luna later as she put her hoof on his. “It would be a pleasure.”
The two stepped out onto the floor, joining their friends as they danced with them. The dancing wore on late into the night, as ponies began leaving. Finally, only two ponies were left dancing underneath the skylight of the room, the music in their heads guiding their beats, their unicorn horns crossed.
Morning Star is the original creation of Tried and True of Fanfiction.net (http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3127435/Tried_and_True)
can you name all four video game references in Micro Chips' suit?